January 2007
EPA scrutinizes “nanosilver”
The federal government moves to regulate a cutting-edge technology
An emerging technology in washing machines that generates silver ions and is intended to kill odor-causing bacteria has led
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate products marketed with such assertions as pesticides. Soon, products
including the Samsung SilverCare WF316LAW washing machine will be considered pesticides--and be subject to the same process
of application for registration testing because they release silver ions into the wash and wastewater, says EPA spokeswoman
Enesta Jones.
After environmental groups raised concerns about the Samsung washer and the EPA reviewed an earlier decision not to regulate the product, the agency announced plans to develop regulations that could potentially apply to any product that has the same silver-ion technology and makes similar microbe-killing claims. But Jones says, "If nobody makes that pesticidal claim, then the EPA would not be involved in regulating the product." That means a product using silver ions could remain on the market without involvement from the EPA as long as it did not position itself as a germ fighter. The final regulations will appear in a future issue of the Federal Register.
The EPA's initial announcement in November of its interest in having purview over the Samsung washer was misinterpreted as an attempt to regulate nanotechnology, the agency said in a December 2006 statement. The EPA says it does not have any information that suggests the washer involves the use of nano materials.
Toxicity studies Samsung conducted in Korea found the technology to be safe, according to company spokeswoman Deborah Szajngarten, adding that the manufacturer will work with the EPA and the states to ensure its products comply with municipal, state, and federal laws and regulations. About 90 percent of the silver ions released in the wash are removed in wastewater treatment, according to Szajngarten. "SilverCare offers significant benefits to consumers," says Szajngarten. "Cold-water sanitization saves energy over hot-water sanitization and can be accomplished without the need to add substances such as chlorine bleach. The quantity of silver released from the washing machine is very low as compared with the quantity of silver already found in wastewater."
Retailers of some other products that once claimed to use silver nanoparticles, such as The Sharper Image, which sells the FresherLonger line of storage containers, no longer make specific claims about the benefits of silver.
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, continues to be concerned about the potential effects of nanoparticles on the environment and has issued a policy statement that calls for safety testing and labeling of products that contain them. Other organizations have raised specific concerns about the form of silver in the Samsung washer. In a Nov. 22, 2006, letter to the EPA, the Natural Resources Defense Council urged the agency to restrict or prohibit the use of nanosilver as a pesticide and to perform extensive testing to ascertain its potential effects on the environment. "As we begin to learn about the devastating effects of nanosilver on aquatic species, we must be vigilant in ensuring these particles are not released into the environment," the NRDC letter says.
For more information on the broader topic of nanotechnology, read "A Small Matter of Great Concern," by Consumers Union President Jim Guest. You'll also find a list of consumer products that use nanotechnology on the Web site of the Project on Emerging Technologies, part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
After environmental groups raised concerns about the Samsung washer and the EPA reviewed an earlier decision not to regulate the product, the agency announced plans to develop regulations that could potentially apply to any product that has the same silver-ion technology and makes similar microbe-killing claims. But Jones says, "If nobody makes that pesticidal claim, then the EPA would not be involved in regulating the product." That means a product using silver ions could remain on the market without involvement from the EPA as long as it did not position itself as a germ fighter. The final regulations will appear in a future issue of the Federal Register.
The EPA's initial announcement in November of its interest in having purview over the Samsung washer was misinterpreted as an attempt to regulate nanotechnology, the agency said in a December 2006 statement. The EPA says it does not have any information that suggests the washer involves the use of nano materials.
Toxicity studies Samsung conducted in Korea found the technology to be safe, according to company spokeswoman Deborah Szajngarten, adding that the manufacturer will work with the EPA and the states to ensure its products comply with municipal, state, and federal laws and regulations. About 90 percent of the silver ions released in the wash are removed in wastewater treatment, according to Szajngarten. "SilverCare offers significant benefits to consumers," says Szajngarten. "Cold-water sanitization saves energy over hot-water sanitization and can be accomplished without the need to add substances such as chlorine bleach. The quantity of silver released from the washing machine is very low as compared with the quantity of silver already found in wastewater."
Retailers of some other products that once claimed to use silver nanoparticles, such as The Sharper Image, which sells the FresherLonger line of storage containers, no longer make specific claims about the benefits of silver.
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, continues to be concerned about the potential effects of nanoparticles on the environment and has issued a policy statement that calls for safety testing and labeling of products that contain them. Other organizations have raised specific concerns about the form of silver in the Samsung washer. In a Nov. 22, 2006, letter to the EPA, the Natural Resources Defense Council urged the agency to restrict or prohibit the use of nanosilver as a pesticide and to perform extensive testing to ascertain its potential effects on the environment. "As we begin to learn about the devastating effects of nanosilver on aquatic species, we must be vigilant in ensuring these particles are not released into the environment," the NRDC letter says.
For more information on the broader topic of nanotechnology, read "A Small Matter of Great Concern," by Consumers Union President Jim Guest. You'll also find a list of consumer products that use nanotechnology on the Web site of the Project on Emerging Technologies, part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
